“What I’m saying is they’ve said it to me, and I’m adamant that they’re going to invest. I’ve seen the plans.

“That is encouraging – not for me as John Carver the head coach, but for John Carver the fan inside me. I can’t say more than that – that’s how it is.”

Asked if the number of ins and outs could rival that at Southampton last summer, Carver added: “I would have thought so, yes.”

Carver – who was at Sir Bobby Robson’s side for the club’s last Champions League campaign – says the challenge for United next season will be to emulate Southampton, who are pushing for a European place.

“We’re not going to win it (the league),” said Carver, No2 to Alan Pardew when Newcastle finished fifth three years ago.

“But if we invest right, why can’t we go after European spots, Champions League spots? Why not? Look at Southampton, they lost so many players and had to replace them. They’ve done a great job this year.

“Every so often a team just comes through from somewhere – like we did.”

United go into the Tottenham game still needing to secure their top-flight status for another season with six matches left to play.

And Carver – who still hopes to get the head coach job on a permanent basis – says his primary concern is getting the team over the line between now and the end of the season.

“I can’t do anything about the protests,” he said.

“I can’t do anything about what’s going to happen next season with my position, so I have just got to stay focused and maintain some sort of level-headedness going into these games and make sure we get the right results.”